


Pushing Forward

by Oregano_Cactus



Series: Gangster Swap! [2]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Isekai, M/M, Rated teen for swearing, izumi and taichi only show up for a bit!, juza deals with isekai'd luciano from their first play, juza is much cooler about his crush than banri is, juza pov of ticking time-piece, juza: might fuck around fall in love with banri see what happens, luciano gives juza relationship advice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23743228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oregano_Cactus/pseuds/Oregano_Cactus
Summary: "They both go to bed particularly late that night, and Juza briefly wishes that he’d had this kind of night with Banri instead of them fighting again over something that didn’t even really matter. He’d like it much better if they could just head to bed together, instead of arguing over something Juza didn’t even know was his fault, and he mentions it that night to Luciano’s amusement.“Assuming we’re somewhat similar, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that my counterpart is incredibly stupid and impulsive and probably didn’t mean to be that fucking mean,”he says, and laughs.“He probably was just upset you two argued and took it out in the way that only teenagers know how to.”"Juza's side of the events of "The Ticking Time-Piece"! He deals with an isekai'd Luciano from their first play, now stuck in the Mankai universe, and ends up somehow receiving relationship advice from him...? on how to deal with his crush on Banri (and how to deal with Banri in general). He realizes that Banri isn't going to do jackshit about their mutual crush, and decides to take the initiative. (Bonus: He realizes what being rivals truly means!)
Relationships: Hyoudou Juuza/Settsu Banri
Series: Gangster Swap! [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710280
Comments: 45
Kudos: 199





	Pushing Forward

**Author's Note:**

> The promised companion fic to Banri's side of the isekai, "The Ticking Time-Piece"! Please enjoy <3  
> Italics indicate speaking/thinking!
> 
> If you enjoy this fic, I'd greatly appreciate it if you left comments/kudos! They really do make my day, and I love seeing them.

They fought again. Whatever. Juza doesn’t really care. It happens pretty often, and despite Izumi encouraging them that they’ve gotten better than before it still happens often enough that Sakyo just sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose whenever they start fighting. 

He doesn’t want them to be fighting, really. He’s working on his homework when Banri storms into the room, and he considers apologizing first and asking if he could go over ideas with Banri—before Banri throws himself on his bed, huffing, and refuses to turn in his direction. It both pisses him off and makes him dejected in equal measures, because he’s aware that it’s fun to work with Banri sometimes. It’s fun to go over old plays together, and he knows Banri enjoys it too. Hell, there’s a permanent rickety chair pulled up to his desk to use whenever they feel inclined to spend the night poring over whatever turn of phrase they’d put into the newest play. 

It’s just that these arguments still feel like they happen more often than not, and Juza has never been a peaceful person (he wouldn’t have the reputation he does if he was one) but he’s never really been one for fighting either, and especially not with someone he’d tentatively call a friend within earshot and a good friend out of earshot. He doesn’t know how to fix it, and he’s tried to enlist help from Izumi before but she just snickered and said they’d figure it out. 

He has trouble focusing that night, and stays up late to try to finish the homework, eyes burning. 

— 

There’s only a couple passages left before he finishes and sleeps, and Juza is annotating one last paragraph when he hears the sound of bedsheets rustling and looks over to see the indiscreet form of Banri propping himself up in bed. 

Apparently, he’s pissed that Juza is keeping him up, even though there were numerous options for how he could ignore the honestly quite minimal sound of his pencil and just go to sleep. 

Juza offers some of those options, honestly fairly uninterested in what frustrated tirade Banri seems like he’s about to go on, when Banri suddenly opens his mouth again and starts yell-whispering. 

He doesn’t really mean it, Juza thinks. He hopes he doesn’t. Banri rants about how Juza is a terrible actor, how he’s a lost cause, and logically Juza knows that it’s just a product of his exhaustion and their mutual frustration from earlier that night but it still stings to hear it from another person’s mouth. It especially hurts to hear it from Banri, who’s been witness to his most intimate struggles with acting, who’s helped him before with his assignments and fully knows that if Juza doesn’t understand every detail of his character, he can’t act them properly. 

The logical part of his mind tells him to just brush it off and continue studying, to realize that Banri will probably just come to him tomorrow with some sweets and apologize awkwardly before running away. 

The illogical part of his brain tells him that of course he’s being yelled at, he’s the worst at acting and that no person would understand that better than his own leader. 

It’s past midnight and his illogical brain wins, driving him on impulse to sweep away his materials and just give up already. He lines up his pencils and highlighters in his pencil case, packing away the papers with a frustration verging on tears and ignoring the awkward silence that settles in the dorm room. 

_“Fine. I’ll stop. There. Happy?”_ He says, crawling into bed and throwing the covers over his head. 

Banri doesn’t say anything back, and Juza falls asleep with the familiar ache of his inherent incompetence deep in his stomach. 

— 

He’s slow to rise the next morning, exhausted from pulling a late night and secure in the knowledge that his class doesn’t start until noon. 

When he gets up, he doesn’t notice that Banri looks different from normal, hair slightly off-color and wearing clothes that he’s never seen him wear before in his life. Instead, he walks past the still-asleep Banri and to the bathroom to brush his teeth, grabbing various products from their room along the way. 

He’s spitting out his strawberry-flavored toothpaste when he hears a scream echo down the hallway from his room, and Sakyo wrenches his door handle open to scream back, _“Settsu! Shut the hell up, do you know what time it is?”_. He notices Juza, staring in the same general direction, and gestures, “ _Go deal with him, get him to stop fucking screaming,”_ slamming his door shut again. 

Huh. 

Juza moves down the hallway, not in any particular urge to confront Banri screaming first thing in the morning, when their door is yanked open and he sees Banri still in sleeping clothes panting wildly and running down the hall. 

He blinks for a second in shock, processing the overwhelming amount of emotions he feels at the same time, before registering that Banri’s just screamed _“Lansky! Holy shit!”_ and ran straight at him, and Juza wonders if this is the beginning to another fight in the middle of the goddamn hallway. 

He’s proven wrong when Banri instead grabs him by the hand and sprints back to their room, dragging him along for the ride, and then proceeds to lock the door behind them. 

_“Uh—”_

“ _What the fuck is going on? Where are we? Why are you dressed so casually? Have we been kidnapped? We’re going to fucking die, aren’t we, and then your brother will be sad and then we’ll probably go to hell for that,”_ Banri says, and Juza’s honestly mostly impressed at how he manages all of that in a single breath before he actually realizes what Banri’s spewing and stops. 

_“Why would we be kidnapped? We live here, dumbass,”_ he says, frowning, and Banri just stares at him. 

_“What…no we don’t, we were in a shitty motel room last I saw and this definitely isn’t our apartment,”_ Banri shakes his head, and out of the corner of his eyes Juza sees his hands trembling. 

_“Calm down,”_ Juza says, and grabs his hands to stop them from shaking so badly. It’s an impulse that he’s not sure why he follows, but weirdly when he does it, Banri relaxes and grabs his hands back, sighing. 

_“Sorry, sorry. I know it’s a shitty habit,”_ he says, and then takes their hands and tugs them onto Banri’s bed. _“Look, I’m being quiet. Now can you answer my questions?”_

Staring down at him is the simple fact that Juza has never been on Banri’s bed, but Juza ignores it in favor of why Banri’s being so weirdly touchy and willingly to listen. _“I mean, we went to sleep last night. We were arguing over something stupid, and you said some stupid stuff, and then we both went to sleep. I woke up and brushed my teeth when you started screaming your head off and Sakyo yelled at me to go deal with you. That’s pretty much it,”_ he says, and in looking at the pattern on Banri’s bedspread misses the way that his eyes widen almost comically. 

_“You’re fucking with me, right?”_ Banri says, looking into Juza’s eyes with earnest. _“This is a joke! You’re fucking with me and you’re going to buy me dinner later to make up for it.”_

Juza tells him that it’s not a joke, confused and there’s an awkward moment of silence between them before Banri pinches himself in the arm and says, _“Ow! Fuck!”_

For his efforts he just gets another stare, Juza saying, _“Why would you do that,”_ and Banri flushes under the scrutiny. 

Indignantly protesting, _“So I could check if I was dreaming!”_ , Banri reaches to smack Juza upside the head. 

Juza jerks away on instinct, assuming they’re going to fight again, and both of them are left in an awkward limbo as they stare at each other. 

_“So I—Hey Lansky, you still haven’t answered my questions,”_ Banri blurts out in what was presumably an attempt to defuse the tension, and Juza frowns. 

_“Why do you keep calling me Lansky? That was a couple plays ago, and you’re not the same kind of actor as Tasuku or Tsumugi,”_ he says, and watches Banri’s forehead crinkle in return. 

_“Because your name is Lansky? What, do you want me to call you by your first name, even though you said it was ‘too embarrassing’? Because I can do that, you know,”_ Banri says, his voice pitching high and teasing and smooth on the last couple words. 

_“My name’s Juza,”_ he flatly states, peering at Banri’s eyes. _“Are you concussed or something? Do I need to call Izumi?”_

 _“I…you’ve never told me anything about being called Juza in your life,”_ Banri responds. 

They’re stuck at an impasse, Juza unable to find any typical signs of a concussion and Banri completely confused, and Juza makes a choice. _“Hey, put on some decent clothes. We’re going to go ask everyone else what they think, they might have more information.”_

Banri makes a face, says, “ _I can’t find my clothes anywhere, asshole,”_ and Juza shrugs and tosses him some stuff he’s seen Banri wear before. 

_“Hurry up,”_ he comments before he starts dressing. 

He ends up having to lead Banri to the living area, who was apparently unaware where the place he spent a majority of his time was, and thinks about the situation again in confusion. 

— 

They step into the living room, already lively with Taichi chattering away as he waited for Omi to cook some omelettes, when Banri’s eyes zero in on the kitchen area and he tears himself away from Juza’s side. 

_“You’re—You’re up? This early? Go lie back down, you shouldn’t be overstraining yourself especially when you’ve been doing so well lately, you know!”_ Banri’s moved incredibly quickly over to Taichi perched on a stool at the counter, fretting over him. _“I don’t know how Lansky hasn’t already yelled at you, but if he won’t do it, I will. Listen to your older brother, hm?”_ He says with a grin, obviously expecting some sort of retort, but it drops off his face as Taichi looks at him in confusion. 

_“Uh, Ban-chan? What’s going on?”_ Taichi speaks up, and by that point everyone in the living area was staring at the spectacle. _“I mean, it’s not like I don’t appreciate you calling yourself my older brother but we’re not that far apart year-wise…and you’ve never done it before, so…”_

Banri stops, flushing, and moves back to Juza’s side. Juza decides that now is an appropriate time to say something, and asks, _“Anyone know if Settsu does drugs?”_ , and the living room explodes in sound. 

After some yelling, Izumi’s voice cuts through: _“WHAT! Juza and Banri, explain yourself! Or Sakyo’s going to place both of you two on cleaning duty for months!”_

Juza goes over all the details, making sure to mention everything he can, and there’s a silence that falls over the room while everyone processes, broken only by the sound of Itaru’s anime girls cheering as he gets a full combo. 

Tossing his phone aside, Itaru says casually, _“Sounds like he got isekai’d to me,”_ and Chikage rolls his eyes next to him. 

_“What does isekai mean, Chigasaki-san?”_ Juza asks, and Itaru’s eyes light up. 

_“Well, young Juza, isekai is a term for when basically, a person travels to an alternate universe! It sounds to me like our hard-headed Autumn troupe leader has gotten switched with the alternate universe version of himself from your guys’ first play, and now you’re stuck with Luciano,”_ Itaru says, and Juza considers the possibility. It does seem feasible, especially with how Banri refers to him, and he decides that Itaru’s right in a snap decision. 

Everyone stares at him and Banri, and Juza decides to grab Banri (Luciano?) by the arm and steer them back to their room. 

He closes the door behind them, and says, _“Okay, did you get that from Chigasaki-san? Basically, we’re roommates in this world. We act together in a theater troupe. You’re my troupe leader. Benjamin is Taichi, he’s definitely not sickly and definitely not my brother. Also, don’t freak when you see the police guy from your world, his name is Omi and he cooks for all of us and he’s the group mom.”_

Banri stares him, blinking, then moves without a sound to his bed and collapses on it spread-eagle. 

Juza pokes him, saying, _“Hey,”_ and Banri screams, muffled into his pillow. _“Settsu. Luciano.”_

Banri sits up, clearing his throat, and laughs a kind of high-pitched maniacal laugh. _“Okay! This might as well happen. Alright. Well then, hi to my not-partner-anymore, …?”_ His voice trails off on the last note, and Juza supplies him with his name quickly. _“Juza. How long before I can return?”_

Juza’s phone pings with a text in the next second, lighting up the room blue, and he squints at the screen to see Chigasaki-san’s contact information. _“Banri’s probably been isekai’d because he fucked up some magic object. It’s on him to fix the issue, so just tell your gangster boy to sit tight.”_

He lets Luciano (?) know the contents of the text, and Luciano just stares at the wall for a very long time before screaming again into the pillow. Strange guy, he thought, but of course he was strange. He was based on Banri. 

Juza brings some food to their room later, afraid of overwhelming Luciano if he went into the living room, and watches fascinated as he tears into it like a starving man. _“What? I’m hungry,”_ Luciano says around a bite of potato. _“We were on a job together ‘cuz we ran out of money. I was kinda getting sick of cabbages.”_

— 

He explains the situation to the rest of Mankai later, with Itaru’s backup, and they all collectively agree that the best way to handle the situation is to just let their guest hang out with Juza until Banri fixes whatever he’s done. 

Juza lies in bed, eyes staring at the glowing stars Taichi had put up, when he hears muttering from the other bunk. If he focuses his ears, he makes out rambling about the current situation, and it’s when Luciano starts talking about death that he decides to clear his throat and say, _“Nobody’s going to die.”_

The muttering stops, and he hears Luciano’s voice again, clearer this time. _“You heard me?”_

 _“Yeah. Kinda hard to miss it,”_ Juza says, and sits uncomfortably in the silence that follows. _“I never said I minded. I just won’t respond that much.”_

Luciano breathes a sigh of relief, and continues his rambling. _“You know, my Lansky does the exact same thing? Doesn’t say shit but somehow catches all the shit I say anyways. Stupid, I tell him, but he says it doesn’t bother him even though I’m sure he’d sleep faster without it and I should probably just buy him ear covers at this point but on the other hand it’s kind of nice just always having someone who’s listening, comforting in a…”_

Juza falls asleep halfway through, brain already having handled enough, and misses out on the section of Luciano’s rant entirely dedicated to their incredibly terrible third anniversary restaurant experience. 

— 

He spends the majority of his days with Luciano, listening to him talk about inane garbage or doing his homework silently as Luciano discovers the joys of modern conveniences like match-3 games. (For the next couple nights, the air is filled with talk of strategy in Bejeweled to get some sort of leaderboard achievement. Apparently, the hypercompetitiveness is a trait that doesn’t change between Banris.) 

He notices too that the rest of Autumn troupe looks to him for leadership in Banri’s absence, responsibility apparently falling to him after Banri. He takes careful notes, uses the style of analysis he normally invests on his homework to try to give tips for the others, and is rewarded by Izumi telling him that he’s really stepped up as a leader and buying him candy at the grocery store. It’s a strange feeling, to be leader, but he thinks he understands what Banri does a little better with the experience he gains. 

Another discovery he makes is that Luciano has a lot of weird habits, one being that he apparently wants to sleep in the same bed as Juza. He brings it up one night when they’re both silently preparing to get to bed, saying quietly, _“Hey, it sounds stupid, but can I share a bed with you tonight? It’s fucking freezing and I can’t stand shitty heating.”_

Juza stares at him shifting back and forth for a long while before realizing it isn’t a joke, and shrugs. It’s not like he’s opposed to it, having shared a bed with cousins many times during family gatherings when he was younger, and if he’s being honest, he’s thought once or twice about what Banri was like asleep. 

Luciano crawls underneath the covers with him and tucks himself into his side like it’s something that comes naturally, and Juza speculates if it wasn’t possible that he and Lansky in their world had something beyond just good friends. (If he bothered to stay awake for longer than 20 minutes into Luciano’s ramblings, he would’ve had his answer immediately. But alas, Juza was not a particularly light sleeper.) 

It’s kind of nice, sleeping with another person, and he tells Azuma that he thinks he understands the appeal one day after school. Azuma just laughs, and asks, _“Are you sure it’s the sleeping that you enjoy?”_ and he hears Itaru snicker from the couch as he just looks at Azuma, confused. _“Oh, nevermind. You’ll get it.”_

They settle into a somewhat regular system, with Luciano usually rising far earlier than him and extricating himself from the bed, that’s only broken when Juza spends hours on a homework assignment again and keeps Luciano up in the process. 

They both go to bed particularly late that night, and Juza briefly wishes that he’d had this kind of night with Banri instead of them fighting again over something that didn’t even really matter. He’d like it much better if they could just head to bed together, instead of arguing over something Juza didn’t even know was his fault, and he mentions it that night to Luciano’s amusement. _“Assuming we’re somewhat similar, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that my counterpart is incredibly stupid and impulsive and probably didn’t mean to be that fucking mean,”_ he says, and laughs. _“He probably was just upset you two argued and took it out in the way that only teenagers know how to.”_

 _“Speaking from experience?”_ Juza retorts, and laughs a little at Luciano’s offended expression that speaks volumes. 

— 

They finally happen to wake up at the same time the next morning, Juza opening his eyes slightly earlier than Luciano. He moves to shake Luciano awake, leaning down to check if his eyes are open, when Luciano grabs his arm and tugs him down the rest of the way. 

Juza sits motionless, frozen with shock, as Luciano presses their lips together and sighs into his mouth. _“Why do you always get up at ungodly hours,”_ he grumbles, and turns over. _“Five more minutes? Don’t be a dickhead or I’m kissing you in front of Benjamin at the dinner table. Soil that boy’s eyes by finally letting him find out what I’m sure he’s fully aware of.”_

It’s the silence that seems to alert Luciano that something’s wrong, because he turns back over and rubs his eyes before getting a better look at his surroundings and opening his eyes even wider. _“I—Shit, you’re not—”_

Juza finally finds his words, saying, _“I…No, I don’t think I am,”_ before Luciano cuts him off with a groan. 

_“Goddammit.”_ He runs his hands through his hair, sitting up in bed. _“That was my mistake, I’m sorry for doing that without asking. I thought you were someone else.”_

 _“...Lansky, I assume?”_ Juza says, running through what he’d said in his head. 

Luciano looks at him with a long, weary look before sighing, _“Yeah. Fuck it.”_

“ _So you two are…”_

 _“I called him my partner, I guess that makes it clear enough,”_ Luciano says. _“Sorry for having you find out this way, I didn’t want to tell you in case that’d make things awkward between your equivalent.”_

Juza thinks it over, thinks over the kiss, thinks over the times he’d spent with Banri recently where it was just the two of them laughing and joking over theater texts, and says, _“I don’t think it’ll be an issue, really.”_

“ _Oh good, I’m glad I didn’t fuck it up for you two—”_

“ _Is it kinda stupid to want to do it myself?”_ Juza wonders, cutting Luciano off, and looks at him cracking a small smile. 

_“I had a feeling you might say that,”_ Luciano says. Quietly, he says, _“I overshare enough already, what’s one more…”_ before speaking louder and saying, _“Did you know that it was Lansky who got the balls to actually kiss me first?”_

Juza smirks. He may not want to fight with Banri, but he’s still competitive. 

_“Don’t laugh like that, you dickhead! All I’m saying is that I doubt my counterpart is any more in touch with his emotions than I was at that stage, and I’m just saying that if you want anything to happen, you might be the one who needs to give him a nudge,”_ Luciano says slyly, and nods decisively at the end of his statement. “ _I was a fucking idiot when I was at that stage, don’t let your counterpart be the same.”_

That night, the talk turns from Luciano’s general thoughts to Luciano’s certified tips on how to deal with himself (with Banri? The connections were confusing) and Juza learned in great detail how to apparently force Banri to talk about his emotions for once in his goddamn life. 

Their conversations take a different slant after that night in general, and Luciano’s new favorite word becomes _denial_. He emphasizes that a lot when talking about Banri, and Juza doesn’t really know how much Banri actually likes him but he decides he’s willing to take a gamble in what Luciano says so confidently—if Banri ever figures out how to fix whatever mistake he’s made and comes back to their world. 

He makes the decision to take the first step forward in a moment of desperation, when he seriously worries that Banri won’t be able to come back, and afterwards considers rescinding it but decides it’d be a weak move to retract the decision and just hopes that Banri fixes it soon. 

— 

Time passes as usual, and Juza only realizes that Banri’s switched back when he wakes up in the early hours of the morning to Banri screaming, presumably because they’re sharing a bed and Juza is draped over him like a weighted blanket. 

He panics and shoves Banri off the bed, the promise he made echoing in his brain oh-so-loudly. He must’ve subconsciously decided he wasn’t going to deal with that right now, he thinks, and tells Banri to go to sleep. 

Juza sleeps little that night, mind racing with thoughts of his promise and the sound of Banri’s teeth chattering echoing throughout the room. 

— 

He tells Banri about his side of the switch later, leaving out the more personal details about their talks, and time progresses on. 

Banri glances at him during practice as he tries to help more with the leadership duties, enjoying the way he’d used that analysis he usually worked on with Banri for the good of their troupe, and neither of them say much about it but he wishes Banri would. 

Banri still chatters his teeth at night, and sometimes Juza hears muttering like Luciano used to do. He’d tell Banri it was okay to talk louder, but that would break the awkwardness between them, and Juza was still resolutely ignoring the promise he’d made. 

— 

He cracks a little bit one night, sick of hearing Banri freeze to death in his bed and well aware of how he was probably treated in the other world, and tells him to come over to his bed. 

Luciano’s reminder that the more he acted like it was a big deal the more Banri would be embarrassed echoes in his head, and he shrugs nonchalantly as Banri sputters. 

It pays off when Banri joins him an hour or two later, and he allows himself a little bit of indulgence as he moves closer and learns that Banri uses pomegranate-scented shampoo. He laughs with the absurdity of it, causing Banri’s hair to flare out, and falls asleep promising to finally not pussy out the next day. 

— 

Juza does not, in fact, manage to do anything the next day. Or for the next week or two. They continue to share a bed, Banri starts to ramble more around him, and Juza realizes that they’re really just going to continue in this state of (albeit comforting) limbo unless he, as Luciano said, does something about. 

He interjects every now and then when Banri talks, trying to show he’s listening, and basks in enjoyment as Banri’s eyes light up whenever he’s acknowledged. It’s more interesting and fun to get along with Banri than to fight him, even if they are still both pushing each other forward at a breakneck pace, and Juza thinks that this is probably what actual rivals are supposed to do—support each other while they drag each other forward. 

— 

Promise looming over his head, Juza decides to finally do something on a night when they’re both supposed to be asleep but he feels Banri heating up rapidly as Juza drapes over him like a few-armed octopus. He laughs at the ridiculousness of the situation, and hears Banri’s snappy retort the next second: _“What’re you laughing for, huh?”._

He responds accordingly, and it’s only a couple more exchanges before he remembers what Luciano said, and decides to just say something. _“I’m just saying, I don’t mind if you wanna kiss me.”_

Banri’s face is almost funny, freaked out like that, and Juza grins further. He reminds Banri that he’d spoken with the counterpart too, that Luciano had told him some interesting things, and watches the red spread even further across his face. Luciano was right, it seemed. 

Banri apologizes, awkward and badly-paced, and Juza thinks that it’s almost endearing. He’s at least glad to have some sort of confirmation that his interest is reciprocated, and he smiles again at the memory of all the times they’d spent together at his desk, now painted in a different light, before he moves in and kisses Banri as easily as Luciano had kissed him by accident all those weeks ago. 

His lips are dry, Juza notes in a small corner of his brain. The other much larger portion of his brain is entirely taken up by the fact that he’s kissing Banri, and it feels as natural as fighting but much more enjoyable. 

He doesn’t know if it’s anything special, really. He’s never had much experience with romance to begin with, and never with any boys, but he thinks that the kiss is fun and casual and comforting like the nights he’d spent in Banri’s company, poring over texts and listening to words fill the air. 

It’s more than enough for him, and he realizes that it is in fact special when Banri grins and fights back, trying to beat him again in another competition. That’s the nature of their relationship, he thinks. They’re rivals and partners at the same time, and that’s what makes it special for him—that endless push and pull, striving to improve and never for an instant letting the other push ahead easily. 

Luciano had told him that being rivals was about never letting the other person fall behind but never letting them win, and Juza thinks he understands as he cuts his lip open on Banri’s teeth in their earnest. He tastes blood in his mouth, and he recognizes this taste, but it’s entirely more pleasant when it comes from a bruising kiss and not from them fighting again in the courtyard. 

Sakyo comes in eventually to yell at them, and Juza ducks his head in manufactured shame while letting every word pass through his ears. Still, the break allows his mind to finally realize that he’s in fact tired, and he falls back against the sheets, dragging Banri down with him. 

_“Come back to bed,”_ he says, and watches with a kind of deep contentment as Banri moves back closer to him. 

He falls asleep before he hears Banri’s private whisper to his own counterpart, but he tells Luciano in his dreams— _You were right._

— 

_“Lansky? Why is the gift I gave you for our fucking anniversary smashed into a million pieces?”_

“ _...The alternate version of you is equally destructive, Luciano.”_

_“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!?”_

“ _...”_

_“Hey, are you laughing at me? Hey! Hey, get back here! Don’t fucking use your brother as a shield—”_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end!  
> Some fun facts for your troubles, as always:  
> \- Once they swap back, both Luciano/Lansky argue about who spilled the beans first. They are mortified that in the end, both of them ended up revealing their relationship.  
> \- Lansky tries to hide their relationship from his brother, out of some weird belief that he'll soil the boy's spirit if he sees kissing. Luciano just cackles and buys Benjamin another shitty romance novel (think those weird books you find at garage sales).  
> \- Banri and Juza still fight in the practice room, but now the entire room gets to play the fun gamble: are they going to beat each other up or just make out violently? It's a 50/50 chance either way, but only one of those options causes Sakyo to look like he's going to ascend.  
> \- My record for this fic clocks in at 6am. Time wasn't real anymore when I finished this.  
> \- My WIP name for this fic was "(dj khaled voice) another one". 
> 
> If you enjoyed my fic, please please please leave comments/kudos! They make my entire day when I see them in my inbox, and I always respond to every comment I get. Your encouragement is what keeps me writing, and I always love talking about my fics! I reread the comments over and over and over again for weeks afterwards whenever I need a boost, that's how much I love them :D  
> (And please, don't worry about leaving too long or too short of a comment! I love it all equally <3)  
> Thank you again for reading, and if you're so inclined, comments/kudos are much appreciated by your local writer ;)


End file.
